The development of literacy in selected bilingual societies was investigated. Historical and comparative studies were conducted of medieval Jewish communities, the Navajo community, a northern New Mexico village, and the countries of Paraguay and Tonga. The goal of the case studies was to develop a model for the development of literacy in the…

This paper argues the case for the establishment of local affiliates of Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). The author considers the process of language acquisition ("the central business of growing up and of becoming a useful member of society") and the role that both formal and informal education play in it. The…

English and Navajo language materials are described in this annotated bibliography of reading materials which is part of the Navajo Reading Study funded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The English language materials were developed to teach Navajo children about their own culture and could be used to form the base for a curriculum in English for…

One of the central questions in the study of bilingualism is the degree to which it is possible for a group to maintain their language even when accepting other cultural values. There are numbers of cases of peoples who have managed to develop a modern industrial society without giving up their national language; this is difficult, but possible. A…

English and Navajo language materials are described in this bibliography of reading materials primarily for elementary school students. The English language materials were developed to teach Navajo children about their own culture and could be used to form the base for a curriculum in English for Navajo students. The Navajo language materials were…

The present report is an expanded version of an earlier paper by the authors. Summing up last year's language maintenance study, it goes on to place the Study in its general context as a contribution to Navajo literacy. Following the report is a complete listing of the publications of the Study to date, with ED numbers and other information…

In keeping with the objective of the Navajo Reading Study, to investigate the feasibility and effect of teaching Navajo children to read their own language first, it was decided that more needs to be known about Navajo children and the language they know. Thus, between October 1969 and June 1970, 22 adult Navajo interviewers recorded free…

As part of a study of the feasibility and effect of teaching Navajo children to read their own language first, a word count collected by 22 Navajo adults interviewing over 200 Navajo 6-year-olds was undertaken. This report discusses the word count and the interview texts in terms of (1) number of sentences, (2) number of words, (3) number of…

The purpose of this study was to determine 6-year-old Navajo children's relative proficiency in Navaho and English upon entering school. A first study on this topic was done in 1969. In the present study, data were obtained for 3,653 of the 4,645 children who were 6 years old in 1970. This study used a teacher questionnaire which was checked for…

Two centers of diffusion of the English language are (1) schools on the Navajo Reservation and (2) off-Reservation towns; these diffusion centers were studied to examine factors involved in language shift, especially in terms of internal (on-Reservation) and external (off-Reservation) contacts with English. Teachers in schools with Navajo pupils…

The Navajo Reading Study has been prepared for a volume describing literacy projects in the indigenous languages of the Americas. In 1969-70, 2 surveys were made to determine the present language situation of 6-year-old Navajo children. For each survey, a simple questionnaire was sent to all teachers with Navajo 6-year-olds in their classes.…

The model attempts to map all relevant factors onto a single integrated structure and to suggest some of the interaction lines. Based on a hexagonal figure, each side represents a set of factors which may have a bearing on, or be affected by, the bilingual program's operation in a particular situation--psychological, sociological, economic,…

Bilingual education programs have been established in such Native American languages as Aleut, Yupik, Tlingit, Haida, Athabaskan, Cherokee, Lakota, Navajo, Papago, Pomo, Passamaquoddy, Seminole, Tewa, and Zuni. These programs include the: Choctaw Bilingual Education Program, Northern Cheyenne Bilingual Education Program, Lakota Bilingual Education…

This report discusses trends in the study of Athapaskan, concentrating on language maintenance and bilingualism. It presents both the potential richness and the actual poverty of studies of sociolinguistic aspects of the Athapaskan languages. Noted are two trends--(1) There is a greater interest among linguists in the studies of language in use:…